PT159.S4.P3.Q16 > Analytics

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The following passage was adapted from an article published in 1998.

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Introduce topic · Mayan lawsuit seeking protection of Mayan rights

Belize allowed logging on lands occupied by Mayans.

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Basis of lawsuit · Common law and international law

Common law · Based on custom and precedent from analogous cases

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Reliance on other jurisdictions · Mayans’ argument relies on other jurisdictions, since courts in Belize haven’t ruled on indigenous rights

This approach is consistent with the custom of courts in Belize.

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International law · Indigenous rights are also based on norms of the world community

As an example, the high court of Australia recognized these rights as protected by the ICCPR.

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Author’s opinion · Belize’s courts should also look to the ICCPR

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Author’s conclusion · There should be a presumption in favor of recognizing indigenous rights in Belize

Belize is free to decide differently from other jurisdictions regarding indigenous rights, but they shouldn’t.

Passage Style

Single position

16.

The author's primary purpose in ██████████ ████ ██████ ██ ██████ ████ ███ ███ █████ ██ ███████ ██████████ ██████████ ██████ ██ ██

Question Type

Purpose in context (of word, phrase, or idea)

This is a Purpose in Context question concerning the reference to the fact Belize courts haven't yet ruled on indigenous rights. Why does the author bring this up? Consider the context before and after this reference. The author describes how common-law jurisdictions work - courts look to precedent and custom to decide legal issues. But since Belize courts haven't ruled on indigenous rights, they'll need to look to the cases of other common law jurisdictions. The purpose of mentioning the lack of precedent in Belize is to show that courts will need to look to other countries' decisions.

suggest that the ████ ████ ████ ██ ███████ █ ████ ██████████ ████████ ███ ███ █████████ ██ ██████████ ██████ ██ ██████

The author doesn't suggest that the Mayans need a very compelling argument. In fact, she's already convinced that the argument they currently present is persuasive as to the recognition of indigenous rights.

underscore the importance ██ ███ ██████ ████████ ██ ███████ ██ ██████████ ██ █████ ██████████ ███████

This best capture the purpose. The author describes how common-law jurisdictions work - courts look to precedent and custom to decide legal issues. But since Belize courts haven't ruled on indigenous rights, they'll need to look to the cases of other common law jurisdictions.

76%

demonstrate that the ██████████ ██ ██████ ███ ███ ████ ███████████ ██ ███ █████████ ██ ███ ██████ ██ ███ ██████████ ███████████

The author doesn't suggest that the government has been hiding things from indigenous people.

highlight the major ████████ ██████ ███ ████ ██ █████ ████ ███████ ███ ██████████ ██ ██████

The author doesn't characterize the lack of existing precedent in Belize as a major obstacle to the Mayans in their lawsuit. In fact, the author notes that Belize courts will look to other jurisdictions and that other jurisdictions' precedent supports the recognizition of indigenous rights.

14%

provide evidence that ███ ██████████ ██ ██████ ██ ███████ █████████████ █████████ ██ ██████████ ██████

The author doesn't argue that the government of Belize is violating international standards. Although the author later indicates that courts should adopt a presumption that indigenous rights exist, based in part on international law, this doesn't imply that the author believes the government did something wrong. The passage is about the status of indigenous rights and whether the Mayans' lawsuit has grounding in those rights, not on whether the government violated the law.

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PrepTest 159 - Section 4 - Passage 3 - Question 16

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PrepTest 159 - Section 4 - Passage 3 - Question 16

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